P.S. Seshadri looks like any other person in their sixties, but perhaps what sets him apart from others of his age is his passionate devotion to a hobby. Seshadri has been a philatelist for the last 51 years. He is also the holder of the Limca Record for having the largest collection of commemorative stamps of a single design in the country.
Speaking of the record he says, “I made it in 2010 and am all set to break it now. Currently, I have 1,70,071 stamps of the same design.” The year was 1962 at the Don Bosco School in Salem and Seshadri was then in Class 8. “I was in the principal’s office,” he recalls, “and glancing at his table when a stamp lying there below the glass triggered my interest. It was a rare Italian stamp. Father was more than happy to part with it, and quite unwittingly, this gesture of his made a stamp collector out of me in due course.”
Seshadri’s parents too were supportive of his hobby, and his father, especially, would return with a new and rare set for him every time he visited Chennai. He kept his hobby alive through the years even as he pursued his studies with equal diligence. He sought out pen pals who could be a source of stamps, a magazine providing the avenue of making friends with like-minded interests. “And that’s how I was able to collect stamps from other countries too,” he says.
He continued to collect stamps even after taking up a job, but he thinks that at that time he did not have sufficient guidance in his task. Then a Swiss friend whom he met through his work – introduced him formally to the world of philately, and then on, there was no looking back. Seshadri’s collection was on display on Saturday at the DAV school, Velachery.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current Affairs / DC / by Jackson Jose / August 25th, 2013
Dr Mohan’s high fibre rice could be the answer to the rice craving of diabetics. | Martin Louis/File
The first thing that your doctor will do the minute your blood sugar levels inch above 120 mg/dL, is probably look at you reproachfully, shake his head and tell you to lay off rice for lunch and dinner.
In fact, most new diabetics will admit that laying off the rice in ‘meals’ and switching to chappatis is one of the most trying things about being a ‘sugar’ patient. All that could very well change, if diabetologist Dr V Mohan’s new variety of rice lives up to its promises.
Launched in the city on Wednesday, Dr Mohan’s Jeevan Dharini High Fibre Rice and Rice Rava could be the answer for the rice craving of diabetics. Though the carbohydrate content in Dr Mohan’s rice is just a shade lower than your regular Ponni varieties, the difference is in the glycemic index and the fibre content, says the diabetologist. “Where normal varieties of rice have only 0.8 gms of dietary fibre, our rice has 8.3 gms of fibre making it an extremely healthy and safe option,” says Dr V Mohan. For daily consumption? “Of course, with a little bit of smart moderation,” he adds.
This variety of rice has been developed after years of research and researching over 200 varieties of rice, he states. “We finally found this hybrid variety that comes from a cross with the local ponni variety that is extremely tasty and yet has some great nutritional numbers,” says Dr Mohan. This is the second rice product that they have rolled out – their brown rice variety didn’t quite set the ball rolling because it wasn’t quite attractive to look at nor was it exceptionally tasty, “People need rice to appeal to their senses – it has to be white, tasty, fragrant and still be healthy. That’s the combination we’ve managed to work out here,” said Dr R M Anjana, VP of Dr Mohan’s Institutions, as she rolled out a whole bunch of recipes that were moulded around this rice.
The rice varieties were tested and perfected at their research centre in collaboration with Dr M S Swaminathan’s Research Foundation (MSSRF), explaining why he was the first to receive the rice, “There are over 1.5 lakh varieties of rice in the world,” he says, “I know because I’ve worked with lots of them. Many of them are yet to be tapped for their true medicinal properties and their dietary structure. I hope that Dr Mohan will look into some more research in this field,” said Dr M S Swaminathan. Foodking Sarathbabu E and Bindu Sharma, patent attorney were also present.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service – Chennai / July 18th, 2013
Modular toilets to come up in 14 places at an estimate of Rs.3.6 crore
The Corporation council meeting held here on Friday resolved to set up modular toilets at select 14 places at an estimated outlay of Rs 3.5 crore.
Mayor Visalakshi Apukutty said these toilets would be coming up in wards 3,6,18, 21, 31, 32, 35, 36, 38, 52 and 53 under ‘Namma toilet’ scheme.
Corporation Commissioner K. R. Selvaraj said each toilet complex would have five to six seats and would function as community toilets.
The administration plans to obtain grants from the State Government to offset the capital expenditure for the project.
During the meeting, councillors representing CPI, CPI (M) and DMK staged walk out in protest against the move to privatise solid waste management (SWM) project in select 30 wards out of the total 60 wards.
They pointed out that the handing over of the SWM project would only increase the cost of garbage collection.
“The present method of collecting garbage through various women Self Help Groups has been effective. Why then, the need to privatise the project?” they wondered. For the opposition councillors, there was surprise support from the ruling party too.
S. R. Jayakumar of AIADMK said that he could not morally accept the concept of privatising the said SWM project for 30 wards.
K. Marappan of CPI (M) asked why there was a huge delay in filling the vacancies of two councillor posts caused by the death of the incumbents last year.
“The rule clearly asks to conduct by-elections within six months to fill the vacancies,” he pointed out.
S. Ravichandran of CPI expressed dissatisfaction over the inadequate medical infrastructure and manpower in the Corporation-run maternity hospital near Bungalow stop. “It does not even have X-ray,” he said.
Some other major complaints raised by councillors include mosquito menace, poor laying of black top surfaces on the roads which comes off in quick time and lack of adequate drainage.
Deputy Mayor S Gunasekaran was present in the meeting.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Coimbatore / by Staff Reporter / Tirupur – August 31st, 2013
K.R.Arjunan, a candidate to the Rajya Sabha elections, being greeted by AIADMK cadres in Ooty. —DC
Ooty:
The Badagas , who constitute the single largest community in the hills and other tribes have not been able to contest parliamentary polls since 2009 when the Nilgiris parliamentary constituency became a reserved one.
So the announcement by the AIADMK that K.R.Arjunan, its Nilgiris district secretary and a Badaga, will be representing the hills in the Rajya Sabha has come has a huge shot in the arm for the community,which has fervently thanked the party for its gesture.
From Ketti village, Arjunan, who was made district secretary in January 2012, has held various party posts in the past and was chairman of the Ketti town panchayat in 2001-06.
Thanking the CM for having chosen to send a Badaga for the first time to the Rajya Sabha, community chieftain R.Iyaaroo said it was an honour for the tribals that she had opted for a man from amongst them for parliament.
Chairman of the Academy for Badaga Culture Trust, Manjai Mohan, said the chief minister had made the Badaga community proud by sending Arjunan to the Rajya Sabha and her gesture would “stay in the hearts of the Badagas forever.”
The hills were represented in RS last in 1952-58 by Surendra Ram of the Congress party.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current Affairs / by B. Ravichandran, DC / June 11th, 2013
The Perumal Maistry streets around the historic Madurai Meenaksh Amman Temple are testimony to the adage ‘Hard work never fails’. The four streets — East Perumal Maistry, West Perumal Maistry, North Perumal Maistry and South Perumal Maistry — were named after Perumal for honouring his contribution to the expansion of the city in the 1840s. Perumal, a ‘mestri’ (supervisor of construction works) helped the then Madurai collector John Blackburn to realise his plan to develop the areas around the famous temple.
Few city residents know the history behind the naming of Perumal Maistry streets. Even the residents of these streets themselves are ignorant about their history. However, K Muhamad Basha Ilampirai and M Mohammad Ismail who reside on the streets are exceptions. Ilampirai, 73, said that Blackburn wanted to demolish the fort walls around the Meenakshi Amman temple for the development of the city. He realised that it would cost a sizable fortune of the government to dismantle the thick walls of the fort. Besides, the channels adjoining the fort had crocodiles to prevent anyone to reach the fort by crossing the water.
“When the British rulers realised that it was not possible to demolish the fort and fill the huge channel with soil, they decided to seek public participation. To lure the public, the collector announced that people can demolish the fort wall and fill the channel to become owners of the land. People from several villages gathered and completed the work,” he said.
K P Bharathi, programme leader of the tourism development division of Dhan Foundation, a Madurai-based NGO, said, “The whole development took place in 1840s. Two people were crucial to the project — Perumal, the mestri, and Marret, an engineer. They helped Blackburn in the uphill task by supervising the work. To honour Perumal and Marret, the collector ordered the names of the duo be given to the streets newly created in the place of the fort wall and the channel. The four streets near the Perumal Maistry streets are called as Marret streets, he said.
C Santhalingam, a retired archaeological officer who confirmed the history behind the street names, said that there is no government record about the naming of these streets. However, references have been found in several historical records, he said.
source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Madurai / by V. Devanathan, TNN / May 19th, 2013
Are you a city resident constantly worrying that the food you eat is contaminated with chemical substances? Are you still nostalgic about the good old days when you ate fresh vegetables and fruits grown in the backyard of the house or on a patch owned by the family?
Urbanisation not just ate up green patches but also turned us into just consumers. With it many of us have lost the skills of cultivating vegetables or even growing plants. A day long training programme held for women by the department of agriculture at the Corporation Girl’s School at Puliakulam sought to convey that message that if there is will, and, of course, space, any one of us can produce vegetables and even medicinal plants. These house gardens can even be set up on terrace tops or around homes. Participants were taught the finer lessons on how to farm in minimum area, including on house terraces.
“As part of the state government’s plan to spread agriculture, we have been holding ‘farmers meets’ for a month. While coming to the city, the natural idea plan is to encourage farming within the houses,” said M Shaffe Ahmad, assistant director of agriculture, Periyanaickenpalayam Block. Experts on various topics spoke on how to make use of the best farming practices, with the minimum investment and effort.
PV Premkumar, assistant director, horticulture, spoke on various farming practices and said even in a space of just about a 100 square terrace, some of the common vegetables can be grown. Tomatoes, greens, brinjal and even tulsi can be grown on the terrace. These healthy and organic produce would be enough to meet a family’s needs, he said. It will also help trim the home budget.
“A major problem for people who seek to grow plants on their terrace and such little spaces is that the soil is heavy. Decomposed coir pits can be bought from the market and used to grow saplings with relative ease,” Premkumar said. This will hold water and manure better than soil for more than a year. Organic manure is enough to maintain plants in these. Around 100kg to 150kg of vegetables can be harvested in a single season. These are easier to maintain and fertilisers can be used relatively in less amounts, he said.
Shaffe says that there are several people including regular professionals who practice house farming in the city. “This is gradually catching up among many professionals in the city. Perhaps, an interest to have healthy and organic food is the major reason behind the trend,” he said.
source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Coimbatore / by Arun T. Mathew, TNN / May 14th, 2013
At Tadka Talk / Photos: R. Shivaji Rao / The Hindu
THE RELUCTANT GOURMET.
We board the train at Chintadripet. Desolate and dimly lit, the station looks like the perfect setting for a fight scene. Trains always make me think of ‘Bread-Omelette’. However, the only thing we find on the local trains are phone numbers, scrawled across the walls in thick red and black marker. After staring at the ‘call me’ messages fixedly, my colleague snaps open her chic Miu-Miu handbag and starts writing them down. I look at her with horror. “This has to be the worst way to find a boyfriend — ever,” I snap. She punches my arm angrily. “Of course I’m not going to date them,” she shudders. “But we should call all the numbers anyway. Think of what a great story it will make.” Ah. Investigative research. I finally agree to help. A crowd collects to watch. Ah Velachery. Always an adventure!
We’re headed to Chef Jugesh Arora’s new Tadka Talk. Racing out of the station, we take an auto and plunge into Velachery’s open drains, pungent cows and boisterous traffic. Then we stop on a quiet side street and walk into a restful space, flooded with natural light and the scent of fresh herbs. The interiors are quiet and calming, with clean lines and a restrained use of colour. But what cheers us up the most are the martini glasses filled with chilled ‘Ambi kiwi panna,’ a refreshing mix of raw mango, kiwi and cumin.
At Tadka Talk / Photos: R. Shivaji Rao / The Hindu
Tadka Talk offers vegetarian and vegan Punjabi food in a new avatar. Punjabi food, of course, has always been popular, with its cream-laden curries, ghee-drenched naans and meaty kebabs. However, the style of cooking that exploded in India is designed to appeal to mass market. It borrowed items from North West Frontier cuisine, lifted recipes from the roadside dhabas and sneaked in more spice, all to exaggerate flavours, colour and taste.
While this was a great way to introduce these flavours to the mass market, it also means that by now the heavy ‘Punjabi’ food we eat at most popular restaurants is very different from the food Punjabis eat at home. Chef Arora’s mission is to get back to his roots, rediscover the cuisine, and then reinterpret it for a contemporary audience looking for food that is light, healthy and stylish.
As we eat delicately grilled bhutte kebabs, where the natural sweetness of the corn is tempered by the fierce heat of green chillies, Chef Arora explains why he’s so determined to promote home-style cooking. “Punjabi food is never heavy,” he says, “We don’t use cream in our daily food. Most of our cooking is done in mustard oil. Everyone uses dal makhni as an example of heavy Punjabi food, because it’s full of white butter. But it’s actually from Afghanistan!” He adds that his wife, Deepa, has worked with him on the recipes. “It’s all typical home food, which we have made even lighter. Instead of frying, we use the tandoor and grill… We also use lot of fresh nutritious ingredients…” He holds up a tray of fragrant mustard. “It’s grown right here in the restaurant, takes about six days to sprout and we use it in our cooking. “
Our pillowy rectangles of paneer tikka are accompanied by a tangle of yellow, orange and red peppers scattered with sprigs of delicious fresh mustard. It’s followed by a flat spiced mushroom cappuccino, thin and afloat with cinnamon. Fortunately the meal bounces back with our main course. A steaming emerald-green Amritsari version of sarson da saag, blending mustard leaves with radish, spinach and dill leaves. It’s served with the traditional makki ki roti, a bowl of grated jaggery and home churned butter: dangerously delicious. “We might need to come to Velachery more often,” I whisper to my colleague.
Then the parathas arrive. Flaky and flecked with methi. We eat them with pindi channa, spiked with dried pomegranate. “Hmmm. Maybe we should come this side more often,” says the colleague, spooning up cool creamy raita flavoured with roasted cumin.
I know what the real lure is. She’s spotted dessert. Velvety phirni freckled with nuts. Blistering gulab jamus. And spongy rasmalai in saffron soaked milk.
And now if you’ll excuse me, I have some phone calls to make.
Tadka Talk is at Velacity by Purpletree, 6&7 Ramagiri Extension, Opposite TCS, Taramani Velachery Link Road. A meal for two is roughly Rs 500. Call 4321 3838 / 4321 3939.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Columns> The Reluctunt Gourmet / by Shonali Muthalaly / April 04th, 2013
My scanning eyes are now penetrating beyond the political frame of Ms J. Jayalalithaa as she celebrates her 65th birthday. Seldom do we come across a personality in the terspicorion galaxy of international popularity glittering with multi-faceted talent and achievements. My father, film director K. Subrahmanyam, had featured her beautiful mother Sandhya and her aunt Vidya in his films. Our families were quite close and though I am five years older than her, there were many occasions when we enjoyed playing together in the garden outside the shooting floor of Pioneer Studios in Mysore, as the shooting went on. Her elder brother also acted in a minor role but ‘Ammu’ (as we used to call her) was like a sweet little Barbie doll whom I kept company. When she had her Bharatanatya arangetram, my father presided, and I remember she was amazing.
She was a brilliant student in Church Park and her passion was education; but God willed that she had to soar high in the film field with no ordinary achievements. She learnt music and could memorise dialogues running to quite a few pages as she was having her make-up on — that, too, by listening to someone reading it to her. She would complete the shot in a single take without forgetting a word or fumbling. Such was her grasp even in her teens.
She is a voracious reader even now and has an excellent library at home. She prepares her speeches by herself on any subject and delivers them with conviction in impeccable English or Tamil. She is also well-versed in other languages like Hindi, Kannada and Telugu.
Our dance school Nrithyodaya celebrated its golden jubilee 20 years ago and diamond jubilee 10 years ago. She graced both occasions when she was in power. During the diamond jubilee, we had requested her to release my research magnum opus ‘Karanas — Common Dance Codes of India & Indonesia’ — in three volumes. She commented about the cover page carrying my photo as “stunningly divine” and asked who sponsored these costly volumes. When I said I approached none, she graciously took my permission to announce that her government would reimburse the entire cost for it was of historic importance to Tamil culture. I gratefully agreed and wondered at her unity of thought, word and quick action. The cheque for Rs 7,00,000 reached through a special messenger the very next day.
In my speech, I mentioned about the need to protect Asian culture and its age-old connectivity with India, particularly seen through the worship of Bharatamuni, the aadi-guru of performing arts. I said it has been my dream for the past two decades to build a memorial shrine for this great sage and create a pan-Asian research centre and develop it as an Asian cultural corridor. Ms Jayalalithaa — a multi-faceted artiste and rare intellectual responded on the dais and declared that she “shares this dream and will allot the land for this project”. This was also offered without my asking for it.
Jayalalithaa did not stop with the allotment of five acres near Mahabalipuram. Even after the government changed, she invited me to her residence and voluntarily gave Rs 27,00,000 for this project as her personal donation.
I am ever grateful to her for these kind gestures which were done with no axe to grind. The actual Bharatamuni memorial, which will be the pivot of this research institution, will be built with her donation with due acknowledgement. She always appreciated me as an artiste with no political interests. I am no one to comment on her political acumen.
As a childhood friend and her dear ‘Paddhukka’, I only pray to Lord Almighty to ever bless her with a long healthy life and tranquility of mind in the midst of the innumerable complex situations that she is compelled to face. May God grant her many more years of glory and grace true to her name.
source: http://www.DeccanChronicle.com / Home> News> Current Affairs / DC, February 25th, 2013
LOWER CAMP (THENI): Chief minister J Jayalalithaa on Tuesday inaugurated a memorial for British engineer Col John Pennycuick , who was instrumental in building the 118-year-old Mullaperiyar dam that has remained the lifeline of five districts in southern Tamil Nadu, at the Lower Camp in Theni district.
Nestled in the foothills of lush green western ghats, the memorial announced exactly a year ago when the protest over Mullaperiyar rights was at its peak between Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The inauguration of the Rs 1.25 crore memorial, coincides with the birth anniversary of Pennycuick, who is regarded as a demigod by the farmers in Theni.
Inaugurating the memorial, Jayalalithaa announced that a similar memorial would be built for Karikal Chola, one among the popular Chola kings, who built Grand Anicut (Kallanai) across river Cooleroon.
“Kallanai is much older than the Mullaperiyar dam. It was an engineering marvel built more than 2,000 years and continuing to benefit crores of people even today. It is the oldest among the dams still in use. A memorial would be built to honour and express gratitude to Karikal Chola,” Jayalalithaa said.
Narrating the legal struggles by Tamil Nadu government in exercising its rights over Mullaperiyar dam, she said that the case was being heard in the Supreme Court. “The empowered committee constituted by the Supreme Court had submitted its report on April 2012 stating that Mullaperiyar dam was strong and safe and recommended that the water level can be raised to 142 feet as per an earlier order. The committee also categorically recommended that after the maintenance works, the level can be raised to 152 feet. I believe that the Supreme Court would award a favourable judgement for Tamil Nadu based on the report,” she said.
She also took the opportunity to hit out at the Central government and charged that it had to failed to act on a Tamil Nadu assembly resolution regarding Mullaperiyar dam. “Tamil Nadu assembly passed a resolution in December 2011 seeking deployment of the Central Reserve Police Force to protect the dam. Besides, in accordance with the Supreme Court order that enabled raising of the water level in the dam to 142 feet the resolution sought that the Kerala government should amend its Act that restricted the water level. We had also requested that the Kerala government should not hinder the long-term maintenance work in the dam. But the Centre has not taken any action based on the resolution,” she said.
Jayalalithaa also hit out at DMK chief M Karunanidhi denying charges that the AIADMK government had failed to protect the Thiruvalluvar statue in Kanyakumari. Noting that it was during her tenure that Rs 1.28 crore was allocated for the statue, she said that every four or five years chemical coating was given to the 133-feet tall statue.
